Sierra Vacation
by UsagiRyu
Summary: Keith and Lance's family takes them on a surprise vacation in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. But why would they do that?


**Title: Sierra Vacation**

**Author: April Richards**

**Fandom: **_**Voltron: Defender of the Universe**_

**Rating: T**

**Categories: A/U, H/C, Humor (Hopefully********), Drama/Angst**

**Summary: After Keith got out of the hospital, Caleb and Charli McCastlin take Keith and Lance on a surprise vacation into the mountains.**

**Author's Note: This story takes place sixteen years before "Wake Me Up When September Ends" begins. Thanks to Leah for helping me with the medical aspects of this story and general help in writing children. The story that Lance quotes from is my original fiction "Nova the Easter Bat". "Sweet and Simple" belongs to Journey and I'm using it with out permission. (Here's a video for it: ****.com/watch?v=PzmpQW8meyk**** ) Oh and for those of you who haven't heard of mountain pies, here's a good link on them: ****.**** . Old man Hawkes is inspired by Jesse Hawkes from "High Mountain Rangers" and appears here w/o the permission of the A. Shane Production Company.**

**DISCLAIMER: I AM DOING THIS FOR FUN. NO MONEY IS BEING MADE OFF THIS STORY. WEP/TOEI OWN ALL VOLTRON RELATED CHARACTERS. **

Six-year-old Keith Kogane and his best friend and brother, Lance McCastlin, sat on the porch, watching a light spring rain fall from the sky. On a table in between the boys rested the Candy Land board game. Keith poked listlessly at his game piece. "You okay?" Lance asked.

"Fine," Keith sighed. "Just bored."

"Me too. Oh, it's your turn."

"Okay," Keith selected a card and moved his character across the board. "Your turn." Keith managed a weak smile. He shivered and pulled his light coat tighter around himself. "I'm cold. Let's go inside."

"Sure," Lance stood up and put away the game. He gave to Keith the game to hold while Lance strolled behind Keith and pushed Keith's wheelchair into the house. In the kitchen, they found Cadet Tony Winnelli sitting at the kitchen table drinking a large glass of milk and eating some of Aunt Charli's fruit cake. "Tony!" Lance exclaimed. "We didn't know you were here."

"I just got here, Little Brother," Tony said. "How are you feeling Keith? You look a little peaked." Tony stood up and went to a chart on the fridge. "Ah, it's time for your medications, Little Brother."

"No!" Keith whined. "All they do is make me sleep! They don't help at all!" He crossed his arms over his skinny chest and sulked.

"Tough, Keith, you have to take them," Tony said. He went to the cabinet and took out the locked box that held all of Keith's medications. He measured out the doses and loaded them into the syringes. Using a small alcohol wipe, Tony cleaned off the shunt in Keith's left arm and carefully injected all the medications into Keith's system. Then, Tony put the used syringes into a bright

-red SHARPS box. Then, he wrote down what he gave Keith and what time on the chart on the fridge.

Keith blinked his eyes. "It burns when it goes in," He complained.

"I know, Keith, but Dr. Tea said these medicines will help you get better," Tony said. "Do you want me to take you up to your room so you can lie down?"

"Okay," Keith sighed.

Tony carefully picked up Keith and carried the boy upstairs and into the room that Keith and Lance shared. Lance trotted behind Tony. Once in the room, Lance pulled back the sheets and comforter for Tony. Tony gently laid Keith on the bed. He took off the boy's shoes and tucked Keith into bed. "Sleep well, Little Brother," Tony ruffled Keith's shaggy, black hair.

Tony and Lance walked back down the stairs and into the living room. Lance slumped into his father's recliner. "Something bothering you, Lance?"

Lance nodded. "Keith is no fun anymore. I thought when he came home from the hospital, he'd be all better, but he's not!"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, but Keith has had a tough time recently, that's why he's no fun. His injuries will take a long time to heal, Lance. Maybe years. Dr. Tea said that, weren't you

listening when he spoke to your parents?"

"I did, but he used a lot of big words and I didn't understand him," Lance admitted sheepishly.

Tony laughed. "You're funny enough for two people, Lance. Maybe you should share your fun with Keith instead of expecting him to be the fun guy. And, if you didn't understand what Dr. Tea said, ask your parents. Speaking of there they are. Hi, Uncle Caleb, Aunt Charli," Tony stood up to greet his aunt and uncle. "Mom, Pops, Mr. Colonna."

"Tony, I'm so glad you could come here. Lance, where's Keith?"

"Upstairs, sleeping."

"Well, he'll find out later then. Mr. Colonna said we could use his house in the mountains for a week or so as a "congratulations on getting out of the hospital" gift for Keith. He thinks the fresh air will do wonders for Keith. You too, Lance, you've spent a lot of time cooped up with your brother."

"Really? Thank you, Mr. Colonna. When can we leave?" Lance asked excitedly.

"As soon as we get packed. I'll pack your things for you. You can help by packing yours and Keith's favorite toys." Charli asked her son.

"Sure thing, Mommy!" Lance raced up the stairs.

Once Lance was upstairs, Caleb shook his head. "We're cutting things close, Marco."

Don Marco Colonna nodded his head. "I know. I came to you as soon as I got word. I promise my house is very remote and well guarded. And my daughter, Maria, she's a nurse, she'll be up there too for little Keith. I'm also sending my personal trainer, Bob. He's a licensed physical therapist. My men will get you anything you need in town, too. Just ask for it."

"Thank you, Marco, for everything," Caleb shook hands with Don Colonna. "We'd better get packed too."

"Tony, are you packed?" Colonel Winnelli asked his oldest son.

"Yeah, Pops. And I loaded my duffle bag into the van."

"Good. Now watch out for your little brothers, especially Keith."

"You don't have to tell me, Pops. I promise I will."

A few hours later, the McCastlin family was on the road to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Keith lay across the one seat, his head on Tony's lap. Lance sat across from Keith and Tony. "Wow, he's still sleeping. How much medicine did you give him, Tony?"

"It hurts for Keith to ride in cars so I gave him his strong medicine," Tony answered.

In the town of Sutter, California, Caleb pulled the van into a small parking lot and the engine sputtered to a stop. "Well, we're out of gas," He announced. Lance groaned and looked at the gage. It was on E. "I'm going to COM someone to come and pick us up."

"Okay, Daddy."

"Stay in the car, Lance," Caleb ordered.

"Yes, Daddy."

Lance shifted in his seat as he waited for his father to return from making the call. Lance opened the door. Caleb turned around and snapped "Lance Charles, close that door right now and quit being so nosy!"

Lance jerked back and closed the door with a slam. Keith groaned and blinked his eyes open. He tried to sit up and winced. He looked around and saw that he was in the new van the McCastlins purchased before he came home from the hospital. He rested his head back on his pillow and released that instead of his bed underneath him, his head and pillow rested on Tony's much harder lap. He rubbed his eyes and fell back asleep.

"Lance Charles, be quiet! Keith is sleeping!" Charli scolded.

"Sorry, Mommy. Why can't I look?"

"Because it's a surprise for you and Keith. Now please stay in your seat."

After a few minutes Caleb came back into the van. "Ryu's sending us a van," He said to Charli.

"Good."

Half an hour later, a large black van pulled up beside the McCastlin's blue van. A man dressed in a dark suit gave a subtle salute to Caleb then helped to load all of the luggage into the new van. "Whoa, sweet ride!" Lance exclaimed as he crawled into the back seat of the van. "And it's got a mini-fridge, neat!" Lance opened the fridge and sighed happily. It had been stocked with his favorite drinks. Keith's favorites too.

"Lance, use your inside voice," Charli corrected.

"Sorry," Lance frowned. "Mommy, Daddy, may I have a soda, please?"

"One, you may have one, Lance. And, there are sandwiches in the fridge, too."

"Cool!" Lance pulled out a tomato and cheese sandwich and dug into it.

"Should we wake up Keith and see if he's hungry too?" Charli wondered.

"Tony, wake up Keith and see if he's hungry," Caleb said as he drove.

"Okay, Uncle," Tony gently nudged Keith. Keith whined and opened his eyes. "Hey, Keith, hungry?"

"A little," Keith rubbed his eyes.

"Lance, get Keith a sandwich," Tony said while helped Keith sit up.

"Okay. Hey, here's a chocolate peanut butter and cheese whiz sandwich," Lance held up the wrapped sandwich.

"Okay. Is there orange soda?" Keith asked.

"Yep!" Lance pulled out a can.

"Eat up, Little Brother," Tony ordered Keith.

Keith nibbled away at his sandwich, eating half it. He took a swallow of orange soda, then drifted back to sleep, spilling his soda on Lance's lap.

"Mommy, Daddy, Keith spilled his soda on me!" Lance complained.

"It was an accident, Lance," Tony objected.

"My pants are wet and sticky," Lance grumbled. "I want new pants."

"Lance, we're almost there, it can wait."

"No! I want new pants now!" Lance stomped his foot.

"Lance Charles, do you want a spanking?" Caleb demanded of his son.

Lance looked down. "No, Daddy."

"Good. We're almost there, you can change your pants when we get there okay?"

"But I'm wet and sticky now, Daddy," Lance frowned. He unbuckled his seat belt and wiggled into the back of the van and looked for his blue bag. Soon the neatly packed bags and suitcases were a jumbled mess. "Mommy, I can't find my bag."

"Lance, get back in your seat!" Charli said.

"But, Mommy..."

"Get back in your seat and finish your sandwich, Lance!" Caleb yelled.

"Yes, Daddy," Lance sighed and got back into his seat. He took another bite of his tomato and cheese sandwich. "Where are we going, Daddy?" Lance asked with his mouth full of sandwich.

"Swallow first, Lance, then talk," Charli reminded her son.

Lance swallowed. "Where are we going, Daddy?" He repeated.

"To just south of South Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains," Caleb answered. "Mr. Colonna has a house there. Don't worry, it's fully modern with a TV and satellite and 2,000 channels. Also, Mr. Colonna told me that there's a Play Station 3000 with a bunch of games there too."

"Radical!" Lance exclaimed. "I wonder if has a con…convy-thingy so you can play XBox 200 and Nintendo 2300 games on it?"

"You mean a converter, Lance?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. A convy-thingy."

"What?" Charli asked, turning to look at her son. "A converter? I didn't know about that."

"Yeah, some techie made a convy-thingy and he gives it away," Lance explained.

"How did you find out about it then?"

"A cadet told me about it at Dr. Tea's office, in the waiting room," Lance said.

"Oh."

The van pulled up towards a bright and airy château in the woods. The garage door opened so Caleb could drive the van into the attached garage. The van did not even begin to fill up the garage. There were no windows in the garage either, so no one could see the van parked inside. "Okay, Lance, Tony, let's get our stuff inside. Tony, can you carry Keith up to his and Lance's bedroom?"

"Sure thing, Uncle Caleb," Tony stood up and picked up the still sleeping Keith. Keith murmured in his sleep. "Lance, can you handle your special bag and Keith's pillow?"

"Yep!" Lance picked up special bag and Keith's pillow.

The family walked through the château. Servants walked over to greet them. Maria Colonna, Don Colonna's daughter, smiled at Keith. "So he's going to be my patient. He looks sweet enough." Lance snorted and Tony chuckled. "Oh dear, you two are implying that he's stubborn? Don't worry, I talked to Dr. Tea and I've been warned all about little Keith here."

"Good," Caleb said with a wry grin. "I love my boy but he's a stubborn one. And, he's shy around strangers."

"Well, we won't be strangers for long. I'll help you get him settled into bed. When do you think he'll wake up?" Maria asked.

"Should be soon. He's been sleeping for six hours. And I'm sure he'll be hungry," Charli answered.

"I'm hungry," Lance piped up.

Bob smiled at Lance. "Well Frank, our chef, is busy making a feast to bust the first button. I hope you boys like six cheese, three meat lasagna and cheesy garlic bread. And for dessert, tiramisu."

"I'm in Heaven," Lance exclaimed. "When do we eat?"

"As soon as we get settled in, Lance," Caleb said.

"Yes, Daddy." Lance ran up the stairs with Tony walking carefully behind him. "This is your room," Tony said. "Yours and Keith's."

"Awesome, check out the T.V.! And look, it has a Leap Pad!!" Lance exclaimed. He threw open a cabinet and squealed with delight. "Look at all these games! And movies too!"

Tony carefully laid Keith on the first bed. "Yes, Lance, lots of games. So you two shouldn't get too bored."

Lance had the T.V. turned on and was digging through the games. "The new "Go Diego Go!" game! Awesome I wanted to play this game! And, lookit, Tony, Leapsters! One in red and one in blue. There's a note too. It says: 'Lance and Keith, these two Leapsters are yours to keep as a reminder of your vacation in my cha...cha... Tony, what's that word?"

"Château," Tony corrected. "It means house. It's French."

"Oh," Lance nodded his head. "Can I play Diego now?"

"Well, maybe you can play it after dinner. But first, get your clothes put away. I'll help you then I'll take care of Keith's."

"Okay," Lance quickly put away the clothes his mother had packed. Tony shook his head then refolded everything and put them in correct drawers. Lance carefully put his favorite and oldest stuffed animal, a very well-loved stuffed rabbit on his bed. "There, Mr. Hoppy, you wait here until bedtime," Lance spoke to the toy. The toy remained silent.

Tony put Fu-Fu-San, Keith's plush bat, next to the sleeping boy then gently touched his shoulder. "Little Brother, time to wake up," Tony called out softly. Keith groaned and rubbed his eyes.

He opened them and looked around.

"Where...?" Keith asked, his voice still hoarse from the long nap he had.

"You're in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Little Brother," Tony explained. "Come on, it's dinner time. Thank you, Nurse Maria," Tony said to Maria whom had brought in Keith's wheelchair. Tony picked up Keith and settled him into his wheelchair. Keith strapped himself into the chair.

"What smells so good?" Keith asked.

"Dinner. Don't worry, Keith, Uncle Caleb and Aunt Charli will explain it to you."

"Okay," Keith said. He pushed his chair out of the room. At the top of the steps, he paused and pushed a yellow button on the chair's arm rest. The chair hummed and levitated up a few inches. Keith guided the chair down the stairs. Once safely down stairs, Keith pushed a green button and gently the chair settled to the ground.

"You're getting pretty good at handling that chair, Little Brother," Tony ruffled Keith's hair. Keith straightened his shaggy hair. Tony laughed and guided the boys into the large dining room.

The table was decorated with bright, fresh cut flowers in crystal vases and a crystal chandelier hung over the table. In the center of the table was a large pan of lasagna, a cut glass bowl filled with a fresh Caesar salad and home made garlic bread loaded with cheese and herbs. Lead crystal goblets held either dry red wine or homemade ginger ale. As soon as the family was seated at the table, Frank loaded food onto their plates. Caleb lowered his head and the family followed suit. "Dear God, thank you for the food we are about to eat and for this lovely area that we are staying in. Please keep us all safe in your care, Amen."

"Can we eat now?" Lance asked.

"Yes, son, you may eat," Caleb laughed. "That prayer wasn't that long."

"A minute's an eternity when you're hungry, Daddy," Lance said earnestly. The adults and Tony broke into laughter.

"Very well, Lance. Lance, Keith, there are some rules you have to follow. First of all, if you want to go outside, an adult has to be with you. There are wild animals that live around here, so be alert for that. Also, you can't use the coms or phones at all. And, I know this is strange, but you and Keith are forbidden to go into town. If you need anything, tell an adult and we'll get it for you."

"How can we get postcards to send to our friends if we can't go into town?" Lance whined.

"You won't be sending postcards. This is a private vacation," Caleb said.

"But my friends will know I'm gone," Lance said. "And Billy's birthday is this weekend. Keith and I said we were going."

"I called Billy's parents and they know that you won't be there."

"Oh," Lance frowned. "Why is it private?"

"Because we don't want people to know where we are because if it got out that we were staying in Mr. Colonna's house, other people would want to stay and that would upset Mr. Colonna," Charli explained gently.

"Oh," Lance said again. Keith remained silent during it all.

"Keith, do you have anything to add?" Charli asked.

"No, Aunt Charli. Well, yes, Aunt Charli, will I still have PT?" He asked, hoping the answer was no.

"Yes, you will. Bob, Mr. Colonna's personal trainer will be helping you with your PT."

Keith crossed his arms over his chest and sulked. "But it's not working!" He whined. "Why do I have to do it when all it does it make me hurt even more?"

"Well, Bob might have new and better ways to help. Ask Bob," Caleb said.

"Yes, Uncle Caleb," Keith sighed. "I'm never gonna walk again," He frowned.

"Oh, Keith, you will walk again," Charli said. "I promise."

"No I won't!" Keith yelled. "I'll be in a wheelchair forever!" He jerked the chair away and rolled out of the dining room.

Tony started to stand up to follow Keith, but Charli reached over and put her hand on his arm and shook her head. The message was understood. Let Keith calm down then talk to him. "He's Akira's son," She commented.

"Why do you always say that when Keith has a tantrum?" Lance asked, confused.

"What your mother means, Keith inherited his father's temper," Caleb explained.

"What?"

"I mean, Keith has a bad temper like Akira did," Caleb clarified. "Especially when he's sick or hurt."

"Remember that time Akira broke his leg in five places?" Charli said. "The swearing. Especially since Dr. Tea wanted to give him drugs to deaden the pain."

"I remember," Caleb chuckled. "Akira insisted that he'd treat the pain himself. But what really set him off was the whole stay off your leg for two weeks order."

"Oh my yes," Charli laughed. "The language that came out of Akira's mouth…"

"I don't remember this happening," Tony said. "When did Uncle Akira break his leg like that?"

"You weren't even a year old, Tony, so of course you don't remember it."

"How did Uncle Akira break his leg?" Lance asked after a large bit of lasagna.

"Um, he fell off the roof while helping Caleb check for damage after a quake," Charli said quickly. Tony nodded. He knew by the way Charli hesitated at first that Akira had been injured on a Storm Rider mission.

"Poor Uncle Akira," Lance shook his head. "Was Auntie Mey upset?"

"Very, Lance. But accidents happen," Charli said. She cocked an ear towards the living room. It was quiet. "Sounds like Keith's calmed down."

"Do you want me to talk to him, Uncle Caleb?" Tony offered.

Before Caleb could answer, Keith with Maria behind him, rolled into the dining room. Keith hung his dark head low. "Aunt Charli, Uncle Caleb, 'M sorry," He said. He settled the chair in front of his plate. He picked at his now cold dinner. He managed a few bites then pushed the plate away. "I'm full."

"Keith, you barely ate anything. Frank's going to think you don't like his cooking," Tony said, his own plate cleaned of three helpings.

"I'm not hungry," Keith shook his head.

"Two more bites?" Tony asked.

"Okay," Keith took the two bites. Half the lasagna was left.

Tony held up two fingers. "Try two more," He coaxed. Keith rolled his eyes but ate the requested bites. Slowly, bite by bite, Tony convinced Keith to eat the rest of his lasagna and the garlic bread.

Frank brought out the tiramisu. "Who wants dessert?" He asked.

"ME!" Lance wiggled in his seat.

"Lance, inside voice," Charli reminded her son. "And I'll have some as well."

"Do you even have to ask?" Tony laughed.

"Three helpings and you still have room for dessert? You do have hollow legs, Tony," Caleb laughed at his nephew. "I'll have some dessert as well. Keith?"

"No thank you," Keith shook his head. "May I be excused?" He asked politely.

"Yes, you may, Keith," Charli said. "Why don't you practice your reading? Mr. Colonna has plenty of children's books here."

"Yes, Aunt Charli," Keith wheeled away from the table.

"Mrs. McCastlin, do you want me to bathe Keith?" Maria asked.

"If Keith will let you," Charli said. "And please, call me Charli."

"Very well, Charli. I'm sure I can convince Keith to let me bathe him."

"Have you worked with children before?" Caleb asked. "And please call me Caleb."

"Yes, I have. I did my student nursing at Children's Hospital. And, before coming here, I worked with a family that had a disabled child. Poor thing died. Leukemia. Is Keith a finicky eater?" Maria asked.

"Very," Caleb said.

"Have you tried giving him ice cream or yogurt smoothies when he's refusing to eat? What did he eat in the hospital?"

"Mashed vegetables, some ice cream, they tried baby food but Keith wouldn't touch it. He stopped eating entirely at one point and had to be put back on a feeding tube for a few days," Caleb shuddered. "That was scary. I was sure we were going to loose him. He just laid there in bed, didn't talk, didn't eat. Tony was the one who made him start eating and talking again."

"How did you do that, Cadet Winnelli?" Maria asked.

"It's Tony. And, I told him to fight. Not to give up. That his parents were fighters and they wouldn't have given up."

Suddenly, they heard Keith cry out then the sounds of something hitting the floor with a splash. "Damn!" Caleb swore as everyone jumped to their feet and ran into the living room. There they found Keith clutching his stomach and vomiting violently.

"Get me his med box!" Maria yelled. Charli nodded and dashed into the master bedroom. Keith looked up at Maria and Tony and vomited again, hitting them. Tony silently thanked God for his strong stomach and knelt beside Keith, rubbing his back.

"Mommy, Daddy, I don't feel so good," Lance whined from the door way. His face had a greenish cast to it. Caleb picked up Lance and ran to the nearest bathroom. Lance lost control of his stomach and vomited all over Caleb just as they stepped into the bathroom. "Sorry, Daddy, but I don' like puke," Lance said mournfully.

"That's okay, son, that's okay," Caleb sighed. He put Lance down. "Why don't you stay in here until Keith's not puking anymore?"

"Okay, Daddy. Daddy, will Keith be okay?"

"He will be. Excuse me, Lance, I need to change my clothes," Caleb said and walked out of the bathroom.

In the living room, Maria injected Keith with Compazine. She wiped Keith's face off. "There, that will help your tummy feel better," She promised. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"I'll carry him," Charli said.

"No, I'll do it, Aunt Charli. I'm already messy if Keith gets sick again," Tony shook his head. "Hang on, Little Brother," He said and carefully picked up Keith, making sure that he did not get Keith even messier.

"I'm going to change my top and I'll meet you in the bathroom by Keith and Lance's room," Maria said.

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Maria appeared, wearing an apron, rubber boots and vinyl gloves that went up to her elbows. "Okay, Keith let's get you cleaned up." She laid Keith down on a towel on the floor and undressed the boy. She took off the diaper he wore and weighed it. "My goodness, Keith, you were soaked. Why didn't you tell anyone?" She asked.

Keith shrugged. "Dunno," He said.

"Well, I want you to tell me if you need changing, Keith. I have to check you for sores," Maria said. She quickly examined Keith. "Well no pressure sores have formed that's good." She picked up Keith. "Tony, can you turn on the water. Make sure it's not too hot or too cold."

"Okay, Maria," Tony turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature. "Do you need anything else?"

"Nope, Keith and I will be fine. Why don't you change your clothes, I'm sure that you'll feel better in clean clothes."

"Sure. I'll see you in the living room, Keith," Tony bent down, ruffled Keith's hair then left. Keith straightened his hair and Maria chuckled at him.

"You don't like having your hair messed with, don't you," She commented. Keith shook his head no. "Well I won't ruffle your hair then. Let's get you cleaned up." She picked up Keith and sat him on the shower chair. "I want you to wash as much of yourself as you can, Keith."

"Okay," Keith took the wash cloth and his own body wash, Shrek apple-scented, and washed his arms and torso. Carefully, his washed his private area. Maria took over and washed Keith's back and his legs. She also scrubbed his neck and behind ears since Keith had forgotten to do so. She rinsed Keith off.

Next, Maria squirted Keith's 3 in 1 shampoo, conditioner and detangler, also apple-scented, into Keith's hands. "You wash the front of your hair and I'll do the back of your hair okay?"

"Okay," Keith smiled. "Aunt Charli and Uncle Caleb make me sit still when they wash me," He commented.

"Well, with me, you'll help out," Maria said. Keith rubbed the shampoo into his hair while Maria washed the back of his hair. "Very good, Keith," She said as she rinsed out the shampoo. She turned off the water.

"Maria, here are Keith's PJ's and his DryNites," Charli called out as she entered the bathroom.

"Thank you, Charli. There, nice and clean. You smell like an apple," She said. "Is that your favorite scent?" Keith shook his head no. "What is it then?"

"Lavender and orchids. My mommy always wore a lavender and orchid perfume," Keith said sadly. "She made it herself."

"I know. Did you know that your mommy and daddy helped me when I was very sick when I was a little girl?" Maria asked.

"No."

"They did. They used their herbs and I got better," Maria said. Keith looked sad. "Does it make you sad to talk about your mommy and daddy?"

Keith nodded. "But I want to hear about them."

"Well, after I get you dressed, I'll tell you about the time they helped me get better, okay, Keith?" Maria offered.

"Okay," Keith offered her a shy smile.

Maria smiled back at Keith. She carefully warmed up aloe vera gel and rubbed it on Keith's bottom. Once the gel soaked into his skin, she powdered him. "Hey, you got "Star Wars" DryNites, cool. Who is your favorite?" She asked as she pulled out the diapers Keith wore all the time.

"Obi-Wan. He's cool. I don't like Anakin. He's mean."

Maria laughed. "Yes, he was mean. Now let's get you dressed." She pulled out a DryNites. "It's Yoda, is that okay?"

"Yoda's funny," Keith giggled.

Maria slid the DryNites onto Keith. She rubbed sorbolene over the rest of his torso, arms and legs. "There, let's get you dressed." She unfolded the footy pajamas that Keith wore to bed every night. They were red with space ships, planets and stars on them. "You like space stuff?"

"Yeah," Keith said sadly.

"What's wrong, Keith?" Maria asked as she slid the PJ bottoms onto Keith. "You put your shirt on, I'll support you."

Keith pulled the shirt over his head and his hair fluffed out. Maria combed it again. "I wanna be a Mecha pilot, but I can't now," Keith bit his lip so he wouldn't cry.

"Oh, Keith, you'll walk again, I'm sure of it," Maria gently hugged the boy.

Keith sniffled then said "You smell like my mommy."

"I know I do. I like the same flowers. It was your mommy who introduced me to that scent."

Tony knocked at the door. "Is Keith done?" He asked, coming into the bathroom.

"Yes, he is. Is his wheelchair cleaned?" Maria asked.

"It's still airing out, but I can carry him, no problems," Tony said.

"Okay," Maria handed Keith over to Tony.

Tony carried Keith out to the cleaned up living room. He settled Keith on the couch and sat next to him. Charli stood up. "Come on, Lance, it's time for your bath."

"Ah, Mommy, I don't wanna bath!" Lance complained.

"Lance Charles…" Charli warned.

"Okay, Mommy," Lance scowled and walked with his mother into the bathroom.

After Lance's bath, he and Charli rejoined the family in the living room. Lance wore pajamas identical to Keith's except they were blue. Lance sat on Caleb's lap as he watched the news. A news segment came on the local news about King Alfor of Arus and his visit to Washington D.C. At his side was his four-year-old daughter, Crown Princess Allura. Allura turned to the camera and Keith gasped softly.

"The Princess is pretty, isn't she?" Charli commented with a wry grin.

"Yeah," Keith agreed.

Lance crossed his arms over his chest. "She's a girl. She's got girl germs," He said.

"No, she doesn't!" Keith protested, confused. "How would I know that?"

"You're right, Keith, little girls, especially princesses, don't have 'girl germs'," Charli said.

Suddenly, Caleb's COM went off. He looked at the number and said "Excuse me, but I have to take this call." He stood up and left the living room for Mr. Colonna's private office. Once there, he clicked on the COM. "*I'm here, Sire.*"

"*How is your family doing? Especially young Keith? I heard through the Tanaka family that there was another threat against Keith.*"

"*We're hiding in a safe location. I can't tell you in just in case. But Keith is doing fine. Oh and Sire, he saw your daughter on T.V. and just stared at her. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He even agreed with Charli that she's pretty.*"

"*That's great! I wish I could meet Keith. I wish Allura could meet him before they're both grown up.*"

"*It would cause too many questions for Keith. And he's not old enough for those answers yet. He's only six years old,*" Caleb shook his head.

"*I know. It saddens me that I'll never see Keith in the flesh. That I won't see my daughter grow up. But I know Keith will be good to her. And, Keith is the one who will defeat Zarkon.*"

"*So much riding on one small boy,*" Caleb sighed. "*I just hope Keith's up to it.*"

"*He is. I have to go, it's well past Allura's bed time and she wants her story. Good luck and may God bless you and your family.*"

"*God's blessings on you and your family as well, Sire. Good bye,*" Caleb logged off his COM. He rejoined his family.

"Who was on the COM, dear?" Charli asked.

"Just a possible client. I told him we were on vacation and that I'd call him when we get back," Caleb said. He moved his hands in a silent code that neither Keith nor Lance noticed. "It was King Alfor calling to check on Keith." The silent code said. Charli nodded her head in understanding.

"I think we've had enough T.V.," Charli proclaimed. "Lance, why don't you pick out a book to read."

"Okay," Lance went to the large book shelf. "Alright, all the 'Nova the Bat' stories," Lance picked up a thin book entitled "Nova the Easter Bat".

"Why don't you and Keith take turns reading out loud?" Charli suggested.

"Okay, Mommy," Lance opened the book. "'Deep inside a cave hidden in the mountains resided a bat community. Every bat had a bat family that lived in little bat homes that looked like birdhouses. And, every bat celebrated Halloween, their special holiday given to them by humans. Every little bat loved Halloween. They'd get to stay up late and fly all over town. Their bat mommies would make special bat goodies like sugar coated flies and moth cookies for them to eat. Also, they got to dress up and go around to the animals in the forest and get treats from all the animals that lived there…'"

Lance closed the book after the last word was read. Keith yawned. "It's bed time," Caleb said. He picked up Keith.

"Not sleepy," Lance complained. He rubbed his eyes.

"I think you are sleepy," Caleb smiled at his son. "Come on, son. Keith is sleepy."

"Not sleepy," Lance clung to his father's sleeve and yawned.

Caleb shook his head and guided his son to the bedroom set up for him and Keith. Lance crawled into bed and Caleb gently laid Keith down on his bed. Charli tucked Lance into bed while Maria tucked the covers in around Keith. Lance turned over and clutched Mr. Hoppy close to his chest. Soon, he was fast asleep. Keith lay awake while Tony came in with the med box. "Well, Keith, time for your beddy-bye medicines," Maria said. She looked over the chart to see what Keith got then loaded the syringes with the medication. She injected the medication into the shunt. Keith whimpered as the medication burned his veins. "That's my brave boy," Maria stroked Keith's hair. "Sleep tight, Keith."

"Yes, both of you, good night," Charli kissed both boys on the forehead.

"Night, Aunt Charli, Maria," Keith said quietly from his bed. The adults left the room and soon Keith, with the medications in his system, fell asleep.

While the boys slept, the adults and Tony gathered in the kitchen for a meeting. Frank poured coffee for those who drank it and home made hot chocolate for the rest. "This was a real close call," Caleb said, pacing, ignoring his own cup of cocoa. "We almost didn't get out of the City in time."

"I know. Zark's forces are getting sneakier, I'll give them that," Charli agreed. "Guess what I found in our bedroom?"

"What?" Caleb asked.

"An FBI wire. This place is wired for sound. I wonder if Mr. Colonna knows."

"Oh yeah he knows. He never does his business here, but still, he figured with the wire, if things went south pretty fast, there could be several highly trained FBI agents on hand to help," Frank said.

"I'd feel better if there were several highly trained Storm Riders on hand," Caleb said. "No offence to the FBI, but Zark's forces aren't light weights. Neither are the ones who take his contract. Let's go over the plan, just in case. Maria, I want you and Tony's only job to be to get Keith and Lance out of here if things go bad. I don't care where you take them, but get them away from here. Understand?"

"Yes, Uncle Caleb," Tony nodded.

"Yes, Caleb."

"Good. Bill, Tom, will you be patrolling the area outside, I assume?"

"Yep, Commander. Just like we do for Mr. Colonna. And we're well armed, don't worry about that," Bill said.

"Good. Just one thing, don't call me "Commander". It would raise questions with the boys."

"Right, er, Caleb," Bill nodded his head.

"And, Chris and Will patrol at night, correct?" Charli asked.

"Yep, they're out there right now," Bill confirmed.

"Good. Maria, do you know how to use a gun?" Caleb asked.

Maria snorted. "My father is the head of the Mafia for all of San Francisco! Of course I can use a gun. I've been going to the shooting range since I could pick up a pistol." She pulled out a laser pistol from behind her back. "I keep it in a holster in the small of my back."

"Tony, did your father issue you a gun for this trip?" Caleb asked his nephew.

"Yes, Uncle Caleb," Tony pulled the gun out from his boot, showed it to the adults then put it back in its hiding place.

"Good. Any questions?" Caleb asked, finally drinking his now-cold cocoa. Everyone shook their heads. "Let's turn in for the night."

Later that night, Keith tossed his head from side to side on the pillow and murmured in Japanese. Suddenly, his eyes flew open and he looked around the room shaking. He turned his head towards the window. Two gold eyes stared back at him. Keith let out an ear-piercing shriek. "PAPA-SAN!" He screamed.

Lance jerked awake and looked around. He too saw the eyes and added a high-pitched "DADDY!"

All the adults in the house rushed into Keith and Lance's bedroom, guns drawn. "Some get the outside lights on!" Caleb ordered when he saw the golden eyes. Bright lights flooded the exterior of the house. "Oh my God…" Caleb exclaimed when he saw a large, some what fat cougar sitting on the picnic table.

"It's only Buffy," Bill said, relaxing.

"You know this animal?" Charli demanded.

"Sure. Belongs to old man Hawkes. He adopted the cub twenty-five years or so ago after his wife and daughter died, leaving him alone in his cabin up near Molten Canyon. Buffy's about as trained as a cougar can get. I'd better get her and bring her in," Bill said. "If you don't mind, Caleb, Charli. She can room in my room until tomorrow. I'll send Paul to check up on old man Hawkes first thing in the morning."

Lance got out of bed and walked to the window. He put his nose against it, until he was face to face with Buffy. "She's pretty. C'n Keith and I pet her?" Lance asked his parents.

"I don't know. She's awful big," Charli shook her head.

"Please, Mommy? Please?" Lance pleaded.

"Okay, but you can't be around Buffy with out an adult," Caleb decided.

"Okay, Daddy."

Bill brought Buffy the cougar in on a makeshift leash. "Who wants to say hello to Buffy?"

"ME!" Lance exclaimed. He ran over to the cougar and held out his hand for her to sniff. Buffy sniffed his hand then gave Lance a slurp across his face. "Oh gross, she licked me!"

"That's her way of saying she likes you," Bill chuckled.

"Hi, Buffy," Lance said, petting her.

"C'n I pet her?" Keith asked from his bed.

"Of course, Keith. Here," Bill guided Buffy to Keith's bed. Keith scratched Buffy behind the ears. Buffy purred and trilled.

"She's soft," Keith commented.

"Yes, she is. Mr. Hawkes takes good care of her."

"She's fat," Lance giggled.

"Well Mr. Hawkes always gives her treats. Too many treats," Bill laughed. "I'll get Buffy settled into my room. I'll see if she's hungry first." At the word hungry, Buffy let out a piteous meow. "I'll take that as you're hungry, Buffy." Buffy nodded. "Let's go to the kitchen and see what kind of meat we have." Buffy trotted next to Bill and the pair left the boys' bedroom.

"Well, hopefully that will be all the excitement tonight," Charli sighed. She tucked Lance back into bed. "Now boys, go back to sleep."

"I'm not sleepy now, Mommy, I'm wide awake," Lance exclaimed. Keith nodded his head in agreement.

Caleb and Charli exchanged a look. "How about a glass of warm milk for you boys?" Charli suggested. "That will help you sleep."

"Hot cocoa!" Lance bounced on his bed.

"No, warm milk. Chocolate will only make you boys hyper," Charli shook her head.

Lance and Keith sulked. "Oh, Charli, one small mug won't hurt them," Caleb chuckled. "I could go for another mug myself."

"You men," Charli laughed. "Warm milk only, the chocolate will keep you boys up. Caleb, will you carry Keith to the kitchen?"

"Sure. Keith, your wheelchair will be ready by tomorrow morning," Caleb bent down and picked Keith up. Instinctively, Keith wrapped his arms around Caleb's neck. Caleb carried Keith into the kitchen and sat his nephew on his lap. Frank, yawning, served the family their warm milk.

"Thank you, Mr. Frank," Keith said.

"Thank you," Lance echoed.

"You're welcome boys," Frank smiled at the two boys.

"Now, one more trip to the bathroom then back to sleep for both of you," Charli ordered. "I'll amend that statement, all three of you," She looked at her husband.

"Yes, dear," Caleb kissed Charli on the cheek. Both Keith and Lance gagged. "Someday, you boys will enjoy kissing girls."

"No way, Daddy," Lance shook his head.

"Lance is right," Keith nodded his head.

"Not even that pretty blonde Princess we saw on T.V., Keith?" Charli snickered.

"Not even her," Keith crossed his arms over his skinny chest.

"Well, I'm marking this on the calendar. In ten years or so, you boys will have changed your mind," Caleb said confidently.

"We won't, Daddy," Lance said with equal confidence.

Caleb roared with laughter and stood up. He carried Keith back into the bedroom with Lance and Charli following. Once the boys were tucked back into bed, Charli and Caleb retreated to the master bedroom. They lay side by side in the king sized bed. Charli sighed. "Poor Keith," She said.

"Yeah. Eight months have passed and he still calls for Akira when he's scared," Caleb frowned. "I think Keith hasn't accepted, fully, that Akira and Meyong are gone. He never got a chance to say good bye to them."

"I know," Charli said quietly. "I catch him staring out the window, looking at his old home. I don't think he's happy living with us. We're not his family. Oh hell, we're not even the same race as Keith."

"We might not be the same race as Keith, but we are his family. We've known him since he was born," Caleb objected.

"I know. But, well, maybe Keith needs exposure to his own heritage."

"That's going to be hard. There aren't a lot of people who are both Chinese and Japanese," Caleb rubbed his chin.

"But there are plenty of Chinese people and Japanese people in the City," Charli rolled over so she was facing Caleb. "Maybe if we have some one like Jin and Chen talk to Keith about his heritage…"

"Maybe. We'll see once we get back to the City. Survival first," Caleb said.

"Right, Commander," Charli lay back on her own pillow. Caleb took her hand into his and squeezed it. Charli turned her head towards Caleb and he smiled at her. She gave him a smile back.

The next day dawned clear and cold. Even though it was still spring, high up in the Sierra Mountains, mornings were always chilly. Steam drifted off the out door part of the heated pool. Tony swam laps in the outdoor portion of the pool while Lance watched him and chattered away at his "big brother." In the inside portion of the pool, Bob eased Keith into the water. "Now, Keith, let's start with some simple exercises."

"No," Keith shook his head. "It hurts and it doesn't work anyways."

Bob ignored Keith's protest. "Just hang onto this board and I'll move your legs." Once Keith was clinging to the foam board, Bob moved Keith's legs up and down and flexed them in and out.

Suddenly, Keith screamed "NO!" and started crying. Bob quickly pulled Keith out of the pool, afraid that he'd hurt the boy. As soon as he was on solid ground, Keith started screaming and pounding his fists on the floor. "NO! NO! NO! NO!" He shrieked. Bob shook his head. Maria, Caleb and Charli came running into the work out room. Lance and Tony dashed in from the outside patio. They all watched as Keith hollered and flailed his arms about. His legs quivered.

"Just ignore him," Maria said. "Just go back to whatever it was you were doing. Bob and I'll handle Keith."

"Little Brother, this isn't cool," Tony knelt beside Keith.

"I'll never walk again," Keith bawled.

"Yes, you will, but you have to fight!" Tony exclaimed.

"I'm tired of fighting!"

"Tough, Keith," Tony stood up. "You don't have a choice because we won't give up on you."

Keith let out a wordless scream then broke down into sobs. The sobs quieted down after several moments. Maria looked at him. "Are you finished?" She asked Keith. Keith nodded his head. "Good. Now, you have to finish your PT."

"Too tired," Keith yawned.

"Too bad," Maria said.

Bob nodded and picked Keith up and carried him back into the pool. Subdued, Keith hung onto the foam board and let Bob manipulate his legs. After half an hour, Bob carried Keith out of the pool and sat him on a thick towel. He dried Keith's lower body while Keith dried his chest and hair. His shaggy hair stuck up every which way. Bob chuckled. "Here, let me brush it. Maybe you should look into a hair cut."

"No, I want my hair long," Keith shook his head.

"Alright," Bob said. Once Keith was dry, he helped Keith dress in a pair of jeans and Keith pulled on a red tee-shirt that had Diego holding Baby Jaguar on it. Bob put Keith's red high tops on the boy and tied them.

"Thank you, Mr. Bob," Keith said as Bob settled Keith into his now aired-out wheelchair.

Maria came back into the work out room. "Now, it's time for your nap, young man," She said.

Keith yawned. "I don't want a nap."

"Maybe your mind doesn't, but your body does," Maria said firmly. "Now, let's get you tucked into bed for a short nap."

Keith whined, but did not protest as he was wheeled to the bedroom and tucked into bed. Outside, Lance threw a stick for Buffy to fetch, which the cougar did. "Wow, you're even cooler than a dog!" Lance exclaimed petting Buffy.

"Merrowl. Meow," Buffy agreed.

"Hi, Miss Maria," Lance waved to the private nurse. "Where's Keith?"

"Taking a nap, that tantrum he had wore him out, so he needs a nap, but he'll wake up soon, I'm sure," Maria said.

"I hope so," Lance said. "He slept for two weeks after the accident. I hope he doesn't sleep like that again."

"He won't," Maria promised.

Paul walked into the house and found Caleb and Charli sitting at the kitchen table, Charli drinking coffee, Caleb downing yet another mug of hot cocoa. "Sir, Ma'am, I went to Hawkes' place. I'm sorry to report that he's dead. Looks like he had a heart attack in his easy chair."

"What shape was his body in?" Caleb asked, bracing for gruesome details.

"Good. He'd only been dead for a day or two. There's no evidence of Buffy feeding on the body," Paul said. "Do you want me to call the Sheriff for the body?"

"Please, Paul. And, thank you," Charli said.

"My pleasure, Lt. Commander."

"It's Charli, Paul, remember?"

"I'm sorry, Ma'am."

Outside, Lance played with Buffy under the watchful eye of Bill. Bill tensed when a man in a dark suit and sunglasses came onto the porch. "Can I help you?" Bill demanded.

"I'm here to speak with Caleb and Charlene McCastlin," The man in the dark suit said.

"What do you want to see them about?" Bill asked warily.

"About their visit to the Sierras," The man in the dark suit answered.

Lance looked up at the dark suited man. "Hi," Lance walked over and stuck out his hand. "I'm Lance! This is Buffy," Lance pointed to the cougar that trilled and squinted her golden eyes at the man in the dark suit.

"Hello, Lance. I'm Special Agent Pembrooke Perth," Perth kneeled down so he was eye level to the boy.

"What's a Special Agent?" Lance asked.

"That means I work for the FBI. I'm like a Police Officer."

"Oh, okay. You have cool sunglasses."

"Thank you. My dad got them for me when I graduated from the FBI Academy many years ago."

"Keith and I want to go to the Space Academy when we're older," Lance said. "But, Keith can't walk so I don't know if he can go to the Space Academy."

"Who is Keith, Lance?" Perth asked.

"My brother. He's half Chinese and half Japanese."

"Then how is he your brother?" Perth asked.

"He's my brother, Mommy and Daddy say so," Lance crossed his arms over his chest.

"Okay," Perth stood up. "So, may I speak with the McCastlins?"

"Let me see. Lance, Buffy, you have to come inside," Bill said.

"Aw, why?" Lance whined.

"Because you have to be with an adult while you are with Buffy and I'm going inside. And, no," Bill held up a hand. "Special Agent Perth can't watch you. He might be a police officer, but he's still a stranger."

Lance's shoulders drooped. "C'mon, Buffy, let's go inside. Maybe we can have some ice cream!" Buffy's ears perked up at the mention of ice cream. She trotted into the house, behind Lance. Bill followed Lance and Buffy into the house.

"Charli, Caleb, there's a Special Agent Pembrooke Perth wantin' to talk with you," Bill said respectfully to the McCastlins.

"I wonder what he wants?" Charli frowned. "Lance, you and Buffy can go and play in the game room."

"What about Keith? Can I have some ice cream?" Lance asked.

"Keith is resting still. He'll come to the game room when he wakes up," Charli said. "And no, it's too early for ice cream. You may have some right after lunch."

"Yes, Mommy," Lance sighed. "C'mon, Buffy, let's go into the game room." Buffy grumbled but followed her new playmate. She really wanted that ice cream. "As soon as Mommy and Daddy are busy, we'll sneak into the kitchen and get some ice cream, Buffy," Lance whispered to Buffy. Buffy nodded.

As soon as the boy and the cougar were out of ear shot, Caleb said "So, Special Agent Perth, what brings you to the mountains?"

"I got a call from Marco Colonna. He said and I quote 'I know you bums have my mountain château wired. I'm sending the McCastlins and their two boys to my place. I want you boys to watch them…'" Perth trailed off.

"What did you stop?" Caleb asked.

"Because your son and the cougar are listening in," Perth said.

Caleb turned around. "Lance Charles, get back into the game room or no dessert for lunch or dinner!" He said firmly.

"But, Daddy, Buffy really wants some ice cream," Lance protested.

"Lance Charles, get back into the game room," Caleb ordered.

"There you two are!" Bill exclaimed, a few steps behind Lance. "C'mon you two, let's go back into the game room. I'll teach you how to play poker. It's easy and you can learn matching and math skills."

"No poker!" Charli and Caleb shouted together.

"Is Go Fish allowed?" Bill asked.

"Sure, but no poker. Lance is too young."

"I was his age when my uncle taught me how to play poker," Bill pointed out. Caleb raised an eyebrow but did not say anything. Bill escorted Lance and Buffy back to the game room.

"Anyways, you were saying, Agent Perth?" Charli prompted.

"As I was saying, Colonna said 'I want you boys to watch them, especially their boy, Keith Kogane. That boy's gonna be king of a planet some day.'"

"That sounds like Marco," Caleb said.

"Agreed, sir. So, I'm here to let you know that my men and I will be listening in over the wires. If we detect anything, we'll call you and tell you. If you are ever in any danger, just yell out "Poppycock". That will give us the signal to come and aid you. Every room is wired so it won't matter where you yell. Of course if we hear sounds of a battle, we'll come running anyways."

"Thank you, Agent Perth," Charli said.

"Anytime, Mrs. McCastlin. Well, I'd better return to my post," Perth put his dark sunglasses back on and left the château.

An hour later, Keith woke up from his nap. Maria was sitting in his room, crocheting a rainbow afghan. Keith yawned and Maria put her crocheting down. "Hello, Keith, feel better after your nap?" She asked.

"Yes," Keith answered.

"Good. Before you can join your brother in the game room, we need to talk," Maria said.

"Am I in trouble?" Keith asked, worriedly.

"No, but you have to stop having tantrums. You're a big boy, Keith. Too old to be having tantrums when you have to do something you don't want to do," Maria shook her head. "I know you're used to having your own way, Keith, but that's going to change. I know you've been through a lot, Keith, but that does not excuse your behavior." Maria's voice was firm. Keith's head sagged forward.

"'M sorry," He said.

"Good boy, now let's brush your hair, it's all over the place, and you can join Lance in the game room." Maria helped Keith into his wheelchair and brushed his hair again. "My goodness, you have unruly hair."

"Unruly? What's that?" Keith asked.

"It means your hair goes every which direction," Maria explained.

"Oh," Keith said. "C'n I go and play with Lance and Buffy now?"

"Yes, you may. They're in the game room. I'll take you there." Maria wheeled the chair towards the game room. There she found Bill and Lance sitting around a table playing Go Fish. Bill was telling Lance all about various card games. Buffy slept by the fire place, snoring.

"Keith, hi!" Lance exclaimed, happy to see his brother. "Come on, we're playing Go Fish and Bill's telling stories too!"

Keith joined the pair at the table. Bill dealt Keith into the game. "Do you have any fives, Keith?" Bill asked.

"No, go fish," Keith said. Bill groaned.

A week passed peacefully for the McCastlin family.

"See, Keith, it's easy," Bob said as he supported Keith. Keith watched as Lance went through the exercises that Bob designed for Keith.

"I see," Keith bit his lip and tried to copy Lance.

"Very good, very good," Bob smiled at the boy. In the week that he had been working with Keith, the boy had made progress and finally had some limited movement back in his legs. It helped that Lance also did the exercises, giving Keith some one to model the movements for him and a little bit of childhood competition didn't hurt either. While the boys worked out in the pool, Tony did his morning physical training and Buffy just lounged, supervising everyone.

"It doesn't hurt as much in the water," Keith said quietly.

"Well, we'll always do you exercises in the water then, Keith," Bob said.

"Thank you, Mr. Bob," Keith shook out his long, unruly hair. "Are we done, Mr. Bob?"

"Yes, Keith, you're done. Would you and Lance like to play in the pool for a little bit?"

"Yes, please," Keith grinned. Bob got out of the pool and brought in some toys for the boys to use. Then he slid back into the water to watch them. Both boys wore water wings and Keith was in a small red inner tube, keeping him afloat.

As soon as Tony finished his work out, he slipped into the water, behind Lance and tickled his little brother. "Gotcha, Lance!" He exclaimed.

"Tony!" Lance giggled.

"Let's play with the ball," Keith suggested.

"Okay, Little Brother," Tony agreed. Lance nodded.

Bob picked up the inflatable ball and tossed it to Keith who caught it. "Good catch, Keith," Bob said smiling at his patient.

The foursome played with the inflatable ball for a while. After a few tosses, Tony noticed that the water around Keith was slightly churned up. Tony went under water and opened his eyes. He saw that Keith was moving his legs. Slowly and sporadically, but they were moving. Tony resurfaced and got hit on the head with the ball.

"Oops, sorry, Tony," Lance blushed. "Why did you go under water?"

Tony grinned. "That's okay, Lance. Keith, did you know that your legs are moving?" He asked.

"What?" Keith looked down. "Wow, they are!"

Bob ducked under the water. "Tony's right," He said when he resurfaced. "Looks like when you get back to the City, we might look into fitting you for braces and crutches."

"You mean I'll be out of the wheelchair?" Keith asked excitedly.

"Well, you'll still need it on days you hurt a lot or if you're going a long distance, but for the most part, yes, you'll be out of the wheelchair."

"YAY!" Keith exclaimed.

Bob chuckled. "But once you get into the braces and crutches, you'll still need PT every day and you'll still have to work hard," He pointed out.

"Oh, bummer," Keith sighed.

"Don't worry, Keith, I'll get you walking," Bob promised. "Maybe not by the time we leave here, but I'll have you walking."

"Thank you, Mr. Bob," Keith smiled at his new PT.

"Let's play "Marco Polo"!" Lance suggested.

"I don't know if Keith can play that game, Lance," Tony shook his short, black hair.

"I c'n play it," Keith said. He kicked his legs weakly and he moved in the water.

"Okay. Lance go to the end of the pool and close your eyes," Tony said. Lance swam to the end of the pool and closed his eyes. Quietly, Tony and Bob slipped out of the pool. Bob helped Keith out. "Marco!"

"POLO!" Everyone yelled from outside the pool.

Lance swam around the pool, shouting "MARCO". He finally caught on and opened his eyes. "You guys cheated!"

"No one said to stay in the pool, Little Brother," Tony laughed.

"C'n we dive for rings?" Lance asked.

"Sure. Keith, you'll have to dive in the shallow end," Bob said.

"Okay," Keith nodded his head.

Bob got the rings. He tossed three for Lance and three for Keith. Lance's rings fell into the middle of the pool, while Keith's stayed in the shallow end. "I have three more rings if you'd like to dive for them, Tony. I'll do yours in the deep end."

"That's fine," Tony agreed. He eased back into the pool and helped Lance and Keith back into the pool. Bob got in after him.

"Okay, Keith, I'll be right with you if you need help," Bob said.

"Okay." Keith swam with unsteady kicks to the bottom of the pool. He grabbed the first ring and surfaced. He handed it to Bob and went after the second ring. Tired, he surfaced with the third ring. "Wow," Keith panted. "That was harder than I'd thought it would be."

"Hey, Keith," Tony called out. He had two rings on his arms. "How about you help me get the last ring?" He asked.

"Okay, Tony," Keith said. Tony swam over and picked him up then swam back to the deep end of the pool.

"Now, hold your breath, Little Brother," Tony instructed. Keith took a deep breath and Tony dived for the bottom of the pool. He let Keith grab for the last ring then he pushed off the bottom with his legs and the pair surfaced.

"That was fun," Keith said then yawned.

"I think it's time you took a nap, Keith," Maria said from the doorway to the gym room.

"No nap," Keith shook his head.

"Just a short one. Your body is still recovering from the injuries you suffered in the car crash," Maria said.

Keith sighed. "Okay," He said and yawned again. "I had fun though."

"That's good," Maria smiled. She picked Keith up and wrapped him in a bath sheet.

Tony held out his arms. "Bob and I can help Keith dry off and put on his clothes," He said.

"Okay, Tony," Maria said. She gently placed Keith in Tony's arms. "Make sure he does as much as he can in getting dried off and dressed."

"Sure, Maria." Tony carried Keith into the changing room. Lance was already drying off and about to get dressed in jeans and a blue tee shirt with Speed Racer on it. Tony sat Keith on the bench and supported him while he dried off and dressed in black jeans and a red tee shirt with Rick Hunter from "Robotech" on it.

Once Keith was settled into his wheelchair, Tony dressed himself. "After your nap, we can go outside," Tony suggested. "There's a lot of animal life around here. That would be good for your science reports."

"We're on vacation," Lance whined. "Why do we have to do those reports? Bad enough Mommy's home schooling us on vacation." Both Keith and Lance had been home schooled since Keith's accident.

"Because those reports are due at the end of the week," Tony said. "I still have to do my course work even though I'm on vacation."

"Not fair," Lance grumbled.

"Sounds like you could use a nap too," Tony chuckled.

"I'm not a baby," Lance complained.

"Maybe not, but you're acting like one. C'mon Little Brother, you and Keith both get naps then we can go outside with Buffy," Tony picked up Keith and carried the half-asleep boy to the wheelchair. He carefully strapped Keith into the chair. The trio walked out of the changing room and into the gym room. Maria and Buffy were waiting. "Lance is going to take a nap too," Tony said to the nurse.

Maria nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. I think Buffy'll be taking a nap too. Supervising all you men is hard work for a cat." Buffy yawned.

"Buffy didn't do anything but lie down and watch us in the pool," Lance pointed out.

"I was being silly, Lance," Maria said.

"Oh, okay," Lance nodded his head. They strolled back to Keith and Lance's bedroom. Lance crawled into bed, lying on top of the covers. Maria lifted Keith out of the wheelchair and put him in bed. Buffy curled up in between the boys' beds.

"Okay, you two boys get some rest. I'll be right here with Buffy if you need anything," Maria took out her crocheting and went back to work on the afghan. Both boys and cougar dropped off to sleep.

Two hours later, Tony with Bill and Buffy behind them, led the boys on a nature walk. Keith, the more responsible one of the pair, snapped pictures of budding trees and flowers, animals with their babies and insects. Lance wrote down what they saw and where they saw it.

"Look at that baby deer," Keith whispered and pointed. "It's just like Bambi."

"It's called a fawn, Keith, and yes, it does look just like Bambi," Tony corrected him.

"Stay still," Keith whispered to the fawn and snapped a picture. The fawn and his mother spooked and ran away, startled by the flash of the digital camera and the change in wind direction that brought Buffy's predator scent to them.

"Did you get the picture?" Lance asked.

Keith turned over the camera and checked the pictures. "I did."

"Great," Lance said. "Do you think we have enough pictures?"

"I don't know. There are some bugs we have to identify. Maybe Aunt Charli will let us use the computer so we can find out about these bugs," Keith said. "I don't think they are from Earth. Unless bees are pink and purple now."

"No, Terran bees are not pink and purple," Tony shook his head. "Let's keep going, unless you're hurting too much, Keith."

"'M fine," Keith said.

"That's good," Tony smiled at the boy.

They continued their walk until they reached a large, still pond. An Orion's trout, a large black trout with three silver spots on each side that was developed on the Martian colony, jumped out of the water. Keith snapped a picture of it. "Tony, can we go fishing? Orion's Trout are yummy to eat," Lance asked.

"Sure, Little Brother," Tony took out a hunting knife and opened the compass top. He pulled out some fishing line and hooks. Lance picked up sticks to make fishing poles. The trio fished for an hour, getting several fat trout. Buffy caught a few trout that she ate raw, bones and all. Suddenly, Buffy paused in her feasting and growled. "What's wrong, Buffy?" Tony asked. Buffy pointed to the under brush. Carefully, Tony edged himself in the direction Buffy pointed. He brushed aside the thick leaves and let out a sigh of relief. "Keith, Lance, come here, but be very quiet," Tony whispered and motioned for the boys to join him.

"What is it?" Lance asked. "Why are you whispering?"

"Look," Tony pointed.

"Oh!" Keith and Lance exclaimed together. On the other side of the thicket were a mama bear and her three cubs. Keith hit the video function on the camera and quietly filmed the cubs playing under mama bear's watchful eyes. Just then, mama bear caught a whiff of the humans and their feline friend.

"Back away slowly, both of you!" Tony hissed; making sure he kept between mama bear and his little brothers.

Keith and Lance backed away, Lance pulling on Buffy's leash to get her to come with them. Buffy huffed and walked away from mama bear and her cubs. Tony and Bill did not relax until they were back on Mr. Colonna's property. They passed a fire pit on the way into the house. Once inside, Lance asked his parents "Mommy, Daddy, can we have a bon fire? Please?"

Charli and Caleb looked at each other. "I guess so, Lance, if you and Keith are good for the rest of the day. Did you find anything on your nature walk?"

"Yup! We need to use the computer to look up some neat bugs we found," Lance said.

"I see. Well, you know Daddy or myself have to be with you when you use the computer," Charli reminded her children.

"Okay, Aunt Charli," Keith said. "May we use the computer now?"

"You may. For one hour," Charli said. She walked over to the kitchen. "Frank, may I borrow a timer from you?"

"Sure," Frank handed over a lemon-shaped timer.

"Thank you," Charli nodded her head then walked back into Mr. Colonna's private office. Keith and Lance followed her. She let the boys sit in front of the computer. As soon as the computer was turned on, Charli set the timer.

Keith started by uploading the pictures from the camera. Then he and Lance sorted the pictures into files called Animals, Bugs and Plants. As soon as Keith opened the file on bugs, he stopped. "How do we find out stuff on these bugs if we don't know what they are?"

"Good question," Charli said. She frowned as she thought. Paul walked into the office. "Is something wrong, Paul?"

"No, nothing's wrong, but maybe I can help Keith and Lance. When I was little I wanted to be an entomologist. I wanted to spend my life studying bugs," He clarified at Keith and Lance's blank look. "So, let's see those pictures you took." He walked over to the computer. "Well, you got some nice pictures. Ah, yes, this is what is called a Faerie Bee." He pointed to the picture of the purple and pink bee. "They're native to Altea. A planet many, many light years away from Earth. They produce red honey that is sweeter than Terran honey." The second bug was a black and purple moth. "Now that's a moth native to Planet Doom. Nasty things too. They have a powder on their wings that can make you sick if you touch it. You didn't touch it did you?" Paul asked.

"No, Mr. Paul. Mr. Bill and Tony told us not to touch the wild life," Keith said.

"Good," Paul said. He spent the next fifteen minutes going over the other pictures of insects and giving little facts about them. After Paul finished working with Keith and Lance, including showing them a great child-friendly site about animals and plants, he left the boys to finish their report.

All too soon, the lemon-shaped timer went off. "Okay, boys, save your report and we'll print it out when we get home. We don't want to use up all of Mr. Colonna's paper and ink."

"Yes, Mommy," Lance said for the pair. He saved the project to a chip and ejected it.

"Lance, don't forget to put the chip in its box so you don't loose it," Charli reminded her son.

"Okay, Mommy," Lance put the chip in the box.

The rest of the day was quiet for the inhabitants of the mountain house. As the sun started to set, Caleb and Tony loaded up the fire pit with wood and set it ablaze. Charli set the mountain pie irons to heat in the fire then laid out fillings for the little filled pies made out of white bread and marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers for s'mores. And, plenty of yogurt smoothies for Keith and his finicky stomach. In the week the family had been in the mountains, he had been started back onto bland solid foods again. Frank brought out thermoses of hot chocolate, tea and warm milk flavored with vanilla. Tony brought out his guitar.

Buffy curled up in between Keith and Lance and watched the fire pop and crackle. She sniffed the air as Charli made a pizza mountain pie for Lance. "Meow?" She rubbed against Lance.

"Sure, Buffy, you can have some of my pie," Lance said.

"No, Buffy, pizza mountain pies are not good for you. Any kind of mountain pie is not good for you," Charli shook her head. Buffy sulked and gave Charli the cold shoulder. Charli raised an eyebrow but did not comment.

"Poor Buffy," Lance cooed at the cougar. Buffy sucked in her round gut and mewled pathetically.

Charli laughed at the mooching cougar. "Well, Buffy, you can have some of the Orion's trout that the boys caught today. We saved it for a treat for you," She said to Buffy. Buffy purred and squinted her golden eyes at Charli. "Gee, I've been forgiven. I feel so much better."

Caleb and Tony laughed and lined up to make their mountain pies. Charli made a pizza mountain pie for Lance and a mashed sweet potato and pumpkin mountain pie for Keith. She gave Buffy two trout to chew on while the family ate. Buffy's happy growls filled the night air as she chowed down on her treat.

"We should tell ghost stories!" Lance exclaimed.

"I know one," Tony volunteered. Lance and Keith looked at him excitedly. "There's a haunted dorm room at the Academy. Legends say that when the Space Academy first started, a cadet was killed in there by a teacher for embarrassing him in front of the other teachers. So, he waited in the cadet's dorm room for the cadet to show up. Then, he killed him and ran out of the room. He fled Talos Island and left for L.A. But the ghost of that boy named his killer and he was brought to justice. But the ghost of the cadet still lingers on in the dorm room. No one can stay there with out being driven mad…"

Lance gulped, clinging to Buffy. "What…what dorm room is it?"

"It's my room, Little Brother," Tony said.

"But you aren't mad!" Keith exclaimed.

"No, I'm not, but why do you think I couldn't keep a room mate?" Tony asked, looking serious.

"We thought it was because no one could take your snoring!" Lance teased Tony, hiding his fear behind bravado.

"Ha ha, Lance, I don't snore," Tony laughed.

"But how did you not go mad, Tony?" Keith asked with a quiver in his voice.

"Simple, Keith, I merely prayed and asked God to lay the ghost to rest," Tony answered, again being very serious.

"So the room's not haunted anymore?" Keith asked.

"It's not haunted anymore," Tony said.

"Good," Lance said, still clinging to Buffy.

"Boys, would you like dessert pies?" Charli asked. "I have an apple and chocolate pie for you Lance and a banana pie for you Keith."

"Okay, Mommy," Lance held up his empty plate.

"Keith?"

"Okay, Aunt Charli," Keith accepted his banana mountain pie.

"Tony, do you want another dessert pie?" Charli asked.

"No, thank you, Aunt Charli. How about I play some music?" Tony picked up his acoustic guitar. "Any requests?"

"'Sweet and simple'," Keith suggested.

"Okay, but you have to help me sing it, Keith," Tony said.

"Okay."

Tony strummed on his guitar and both he and Keith sang:

"Try and keep it simple, / Not too far away, / Movin' slow, so simple,  
Never felt this way.

Movin' sweet, so simple, / Takin' time to say, / The way to being, to being simple  
Never felt this way.

Don't be lonely, / oh, my friends, forget the past. / Sweet as sugar, / when you're movin' /  
when you're movin' slow at last / It's what I like to do.

How could it be so simple? / To forget the way, / A way to being, to being simple  
Never felt this way.

Don't be lonely, / no, no, no, forget the past. / Sweet as sugar, / when you're movin' slow /  
your movin' slow at last / It's what I like to do. / It's what I like to do. / It's what I like to do. /  
It's what I like to do. /

Don't be lonely, / no, no, no, forget the past. / Sweet as sugar, / when you're movin' slow /  
your movin' slow at last / It's what I like to do. / It's what I like to do. / It's what I like to do. /  
It's what I like to do. /

Don't be lonely, / no, no, no, forget the past. / Sweet as sugar."

Lance, Maria, Charli and Caleb clapped. Buffy yawned.

After singing a few more songs, Keith rubbed his eyes. He yawned. "I think it's bedtime for you, Keith," Charli said. She looked over and found Lance curled up next to Buffy, whom was also fast asleep.

Keith did not argue with his aunt. "Yes, Aunt Charli…"

Caleb gently shook Lance. "Son, wake up."

"Wha?" Lance looked around.

"You fell asleep, Lance," Caleb chuckled.

"Oh," Lance yawned. "C'mon, Buffy," He nudged his furry friend. Buffy grumbled and stood up, stretching. Lance and Keith, with Buffy behind them, went back into the house. "Mommy, do we have to take baths?" Lance asked hopefully.

"Most definitely you will take a bath, Lance. You're all smoky," Charli shook her head. "You too, Keith."

"Yes, Aunt Charli," Keith sighed.

Buffy meowed pathetically. "No, Buffy, you don't get a bath. Your fur would clog up the drains," Charli said. Buffy shot a triumphant look at her two human companions. Lance stuck his tongue out at the cougar.

"Lance, don't stick out your tongue, that's rude," Caleb said firmly.

"Sorry, Daddy."

Keith, Lance and Buffy moved away from the fire and strolled (Keith wheeled) back towards the mountain house. Maria and Charli followed.

Later that night, everyone slept peacefully. Suddenly, the COM in the master bedroom blared to life. Caleb jerked awake and grabbed it. "*McCastlin,*" He said into the phone. "*What's wrong, Marco?*"

"*I just found out that one of my men betrayed you guys,*" Marco Colonna said.

"*What?*"

"*Yeah, the guy is swimming in the Bay with new concrete shoes now. But, you'd better get those boys to safety! I just got word that there's a team heading up to wipe all of you out!*" Colonna said urgently.

"*We will. Thank you for the warning, Marco.*" Caleb shook his wife awake.

"*No problem. Good luck,*" Colonna hung up.

Charli was already out of bed and getting dressed. She grabbed her gun. "I'm ready, Caleb," She said.

"Get Keith and Lance ready. I'll alert Tony and Maria. They're going to take the boys into the mountains."

"Right, Commander," Charli saluted and ran towards the bedroom where Lance, Keith and Buffy all slept peacefully. Charli burst into the room and shook the boys awake. "Get dressed, Lance," She ordered. Charli quickly dressed a still sleepy Keith.

"What's wrong, Mommy?"

"There's no time for questions, Lance!" Charli exclaimed. She helped Lance dress. "Grab Mr. Hoppy. Keith, grab Fu-Fu-San. Tony and Maria are taking you boys into the mountains."

Lance grasped his favorite plushie. "Mommy…"

"Lance, please, some bad people are coming to the house and you boys have to get out of here," Charli explained.

"How do you know this, Aunt Charli?" Keith asked.

"Mr. Colonna called us. Now no more questions."

"Why can't you come with us?" Lance clung to his mother.

"Because some one has to be here to help the police," Charli brushed back Lance's blonde hair.

Keith sniffled and clutched Fu-Fu-San to his skinny chest. Tony and Maria ran into the room. "Let's get into the van, kiddos," Tony said and picked up Keith. Maria took Lance by the hand and guided him out. Buffy followed.

Tony, Maria, the boys and Buffy hurried to the black van and Maria jumped in the driver's seat. "Buckle up boys, this is going to get bumpy fast!" She warned and pulled out of the garage, not turning on the head lights.

"Keith, Lance, get onto the floor!" Tony ordered.

Keith and Lance slid onto the floor of the van. Buffy lay in between them. Both boys clung to the old cougar. They could hear laser fire ping off the van. Lance cried and Keith sucked his thumb. Buffy growled softly. Suddenly, the van lurched to a stop.

"What the hell happened?" Tony demanded of Maria.

"We're stuck on a root or something," She said, trying to back up. "Damn! We're stuck."

"Where are we?" Tony asked, looking around.

"Maybe five miles from old Mr. Hawkes' place," Maria said. "Should we take the boys there?"

"I don't know. This van is laser and bullet proof," Tony shook his head. "And the cabin probably isn't."

"I know, but we can't keep the boys on the floor of the van all night."

"I think we can. It's safer than an old cabin," Tony argued. "And the van is easier to defend if it comes down to it."

"Yeah and we don't have anywhere to retreat to if it goes bad," Maria pointed out.

"Would the cabin have any place to retreat to?" Tony asked.

"A barn, should be empty by now."

"And nothing for miles around it," Tony pointed out. "No where else to run if things go bad. I say stay in the van for now and if we have to, retreat to the cabin."

"Fine," Maria sighed, tired of fighting with the cadet.

"Tony, what's going on?" Lance asked.

"Your parents told you, bad guys are coming. They might come after us too," Tony answered.

"Why?" Lance whined. "Why would bad guys come after us?"

"Because they are bad guys," Tony lied.

"Are Mommy and Daddy okay?" Lance whispered.

"They're fine, I'm sure. The FBI's there by now. They'll protect your parents, Lance. Right Keith?" Keith did not answer. "Keith? KEITH!"

"He's gone all spacey again, Tony, Miss Maria!" Lance yelled.

Keith lay on the floor of the van, his eyes glazed over, his breathing shallow. Tony grabbed Keith and gently shook him. Keith's head made no movement. It was totally rigid. "Damn!" Tony swore. "Not again, not now!"

"He's catatonic again," Maria examined Keith. "Keith!" She called out. "Keith, you're safe, you can come out."

"Little Brother, come on, don't do this," Tony pleaded. A single tear slipped down Keith's cheek but he remained silent.

Maria dug through Keith's med box. "Damn, we don't have any Lorazepan! Tony, try to bring him out like you did before."

"Okay," Tony knelt down in front of Keith. "Little Brother, come out. You know this isn't right. You're parents were fighters, you're a fighter! So start fighting Keith Akira Kogane!" More tears fell down Keith's face.

"C..can't…" Keith whispered.

"Can't what, Keith?" Tony asked.

"Can't do it again, can't," Keith cried. Tony wrapped his arms around him.

"Can't do what, Little Brother?"

"Can't loose anyone else," Keith sobbed.

"Oh, Keith, Aunt Charli and Uncle Caleb will be okay, I promise," Tony stroked Keith's hair. "The FBI's there and so are Bill and his friends. They'll protect them."

"Oh," Keith sighed.

Suddenly, the van shook with laser blasts. "Stay on the floor!" Tony ordered. He and Maria got out of the van and started shooting at the assailants. The boys shook with fear. Buffy purred and trilled, grooming first Keith then Lance, trying to calm them down. The lock was blown off the side door to the van and it opened revealing a man dressed all in black with a ski mask on his face.

"Well, well, what do we have here…AGH!" He screamed as Buffy snarled and tore into the man, clawing and biting him. Lance and Keith heard the shot ring out then Buffy fall back into the van.

"Buffy!" Lance screamed and scurried over to his fallen friend. Buffy was still and growing cold. "NO! BUFFY!"

Lance's screams attracted Tony's attention. He ran to the open door and confronted the masked man. "Well, you just made a big mistake, pal," Tony said and shot the would-be attacker. "Keith, Lance, are you both okay?"

"We're okay, but Buffy's hurt!" Lance cried.

Quietly, Tony said "Buffy's dead, Lance."

"NO!" Lance crawled over to Buffy. "Please wake up! Please!! You were supposed to come home with us and be our best friend…" Lance collapsed into sobs.

Keith pulled himself over to Buffy's cold body. "Buffy…" He whimpered and clung to her soft fur.

Tony gathered both boys into his arms and hugged them tight. "It's going to be okay. Buffy's spirit is in Heaven now with Uncle Akira and Auntie Meyong. And she'll watch over you guys."

"But we want her here with us!" Lance wailed.

"Yeah, it's not fair!" Keith protested. "Stupid burglars! Why did they have to break into Mr. Colonna's house anyways?"

Tony sighed. "They broke into the house because they were after all the nice stuff Mr. Colonna has," He lied. He hated lying to the boys, but he was sworn to secrecy on so much concerning Keith and his future.

"Tony?" Maria walked to the group. "What's wrong?"

"Buffy took a bullet for Lance and Keith," Tony answered.

"Damn," Maria knelt beside cougar. "Thank you, Buffy."

"Yes, thank you," Tony bowed his head. Keith and Lance cried softly. "We'd better get to the cabin. It'll be light soon and I don't know if there are more goons out there."

"What about Buffy, we can't leave her!" Lance exclaimed.

"Lance, we can come back for her body once it's safe," Maria said patiently.

"No!" Keith yelled. "We're not leaving her!"

"Keith, I can't carry her and carry you. She's over 300 pounds," Tony shook his head. "And Maria can't carry Buffy either. We have to leave her."

"No! You always say don't leave a fallen comrade behind!" Keith objected loudly, quoting from the military creed that Tony often recited.

Tony sighed, knowing that he could not go back on his word. He pulled out his laser pistol and set it on its highest setting. "Get out of the way, Lance, Keith." The boys scooted back, Lance helping Keith. Once the boys were clear, Tony fired the gun. Buffy's body glowed like a small sun then collapsed onto itself in a pile of ashes. "Get a bag to hold the ashes, Lance," Tony ordered. Lance nodded and scampered to his feet. He ran into the back of the van and found a sturdy vinyl bag. He handed it to Tony who swept up Buffy's ashes. "When we get back into the City, ask Uncle Caleb to help you find a nice urn for them. You boys are responsible for her ashes now."

"Yes, Tony," Keith whispered. Keith took the bag from Tony and clutched it close as Tony picked him up.

Maria raided the van's refrigerator for snacks and sodas to take to the cabin then the group set off. The sun was long up by the time they reached the tiny cabin that Mr. Hawkes and Buffy had called home. Maria opened the door for Tony, whom carried Keith inside and settled him on a beat-up old recliner. "We brought you home, Buffy," Keith whispered sadly to the bag.

Maria knelt down in front of the distraught boys. "You know, you could scatter her ashes here. That way, she'll always be at home. A part of her will always be with you boys. And Tony's right. Her spirit will watch out for you, along with your parents, Keith."

"But I can't play with a spirit… Or talk to one…" Keith broke down into tears. He angrily scrubbed his face with his hands and muttered "Stupid Buffy… Stupid parents…getting' killed… leaving me alone…"

Tony stopped in his pacing and strode over the chair. "Keith Akira, don't you dare call your parents stupid!" He scolded.

"They are stupid! They went an' got killed an' left me!" Keith screamed, tears streaking down his face.

Tony wrapped his arms around Keith. Keith struggled against Tony's strong arms. "Keith, your parents didn't want to die. They didn't have a choice. God took them to Heaven because they were badly hurt, even worse than you were."

"Then why didn't God take me too!" Keith demanded to know. "Why? Does God hate me?"

"Oh, Little Brother, God doesn't hate you. God has more plans for you, Keith. That means you have to survive to fulfill them," Tony tried to explain with out giving away too much information.

"It's not fair!" Keith exclaimed.

"Life isn't fair, Keith," Tony said. Keith scowled. Tony ruffled Keith's hair which earned him another frown.

"Tony, Maria, how long will we have to stay here? I gotta pee," Lance squirmed.

Tony laughed. "There's an out house attached to the cabin, Lance," Tony answered. "C'mon, I'll take you to it."

"How do you know about this cabin?" Lance asked as they walked out through the kitchen and into a covered hallway.

"I came here after Mr. Hawkes died to help Paul and a few others clean the place up," Tony said. "Now there's nothing to worry about here in this outhouse. Just be sure of your aim. And watch for splinters when you sit down. Oh, and don't worry about the spiders. They're harmless."

"SPIDERS!?" Lance yelped. "I don't have to pee anymore!" He whimpered.

"Just drop trou and go, Lance," Tony ordered, trying not to laugh.

"If I get bitten an' turned into Spiderman, it'll be your fault," Lance grumbled and used the outhouse.

When Lance walked back out, Tony took him to the kitchen to wash his hands. "So, Lance, did you turn into Spiderman?"

"No, there weren't any spiders in there," Lance said, relieved.

"Good to know," Tony grinned.

Maria handed Lance a sandwich and some soda. "Here, have some breakfast, Lance. Tony will you COM Charli and Caleb and see if things have calmed down?"

"Sure," Tony went out to the barn and clicked on his wrist COM. "*Uncle Caleb?*" He whispered into the COM.

"*This is Caleb, Tony. Are you and the boys safe?*"

"*We are,*" Tony answered.

"*Good, don't tell me where you are. We're mopping up here and making sure no one escaped in to the mountains,*" Caleb said. "*Tony, Paul died. He was shot by the Drules.*"

"*Damn,*" Tony sighed. "*He was a good man. Does Mr. Colonna know that one of his men is dead?*"

"*Charli called him. Look, I'll COM you when it's safe to bring the boys back to the house. Keep on alert. Have Buffy help patrol.*"

"*Uncle Caleb, Buffy died protecting the boys.*"

"*What? How are Keith and Lance handling it?*"

"*Not well. She was shot right in front of them. I killed the bastard who shot Buffy though,*" Tony said with a growl in his voice.

"*Good. I'll hopefully see you guys soon. McCastlin out,*" Caleb logged off his COM.

Tony clicked off his COM and walked back into the cabin. "Maria," He whispered and motioned for her to join him in the kitchen. Once they were out of ear shot of Keith and Lance, Tony said "Paul's dead. Shot by the Drules."

Maria shook her head. "No, it can't be…" She whispered.

"Where you and Paul close?"

Maria nodded. "We were dating," She bit her lip and blinked her eyes. "Poppa knew about it. He liked Paul. He thought that Paul would take over for him when Poppa died."

Tony hugged Maria. "I'm sorry, Maria," Tony said.

"Thank you, Tony," Maria wiped her eyes. "I'd better go and check on the boys. Especially Keith. It's about time for his medications."

Just then laser bullets shattered the front windows in the cabin. Lance pulled Keith to the floor and dragged him into the next room. A rough voice called out "Give us the boy and we'll let you all live!"

Tony slipped out of the back of the cabin and found two Drules dressed in black, waiting. He put his laser pistol on silent mode and quickly dispatched the two would-be assassins. He ran back into the cabin and found Maria exchanging shots with the other two Drules. Tony joined her at the blown out window. "There are two dead Drules near the tree line," He hissed to her.

"Good," Maria whispered back.

The pair fired at the Drules shooting at them, Maria killing one while Tony killed the other one. Maria relaxed against the wall. "It's over."

"Yeah," Tony nodded his head. "*Tony to Uncle Caleb,*" He clicked on his COM.

"*McCastlin here,*" Caleb answered. "*What's wrong, Tony?*"

"*We just had a shoot out with four bad guys here.*"

"*Damn!*" Caleb swore. "*Where ever you are, isn't safe. Will and Bill are almost done with their recon. Come back to the house.*"

"*Okay, Uncle Caleb,*" Tony said. "*We're heading out now.*" Tony clicked off his COM. "Keith, Lance, we're going back to the house."

"Is it safe?" Lance asked, not having listened in on Tony's conversation.

"As far as I know," Tony answered. "Lance, you carry Buffy's ashes."

"Yes, Tony," Lance nodded his head and picked up the vinyl bag and Mr. Hoppy.

"Maria, can you carry Keith?"

"Sure. He's not that heavy," Maria said and picked up Keith.

The group carefully left the cabin, Tony on point. For several hours, they slogged through the mountains until they came to the discarded and now burned-out van. Tony snorted. "I guess they thought that we might use it again," He commented.

"How are we gonna go home if the van's gone?" Lance asked, worried.

"We'll call some one to drive up your parents' van to us," Tony answered. "Come on."

Lance sat down on the ground. "I'm tired, Tony," He whined.

Tony knelt down. "Get on my back, Lance. But you have to hold onto me. I might need the use of my hands." Lance crawled onto Tony's back, wrapping his arms around Tony's neck and his legs around Tony's waist. They continued to walk down the road. Keith and Lance were soon fast asleep. Three hours later, they came upon the mountain house owned by Marco Colonna. Charli was waiting for them at the door.

"Oh, come in, come in, you must be exhausted!" Charli fussed over everyone. "Caleb and I will put the boys to bed, you two just relax." Charli took Keith off Maria while Caleb took Lance into his arms.

"Thank you, Uncle Caleb," Tony shook his arms. Over the last few miles, Tony had to carry Lance in his arms after the boy fell asleep.

Tony and Maria sat on the couch. Frank served them each a cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. Tony looked around. There was no evidence that a fight to the death had happened in the château. After Charli and Caleb returned from putting Keith and Lance to bed, Tony asked "What happened here?"

"A group of 30 Drules and Russian Mafia attacked the place. They killed Paul outside. That's how they announced themselves, with Paul's murder. But, we managed to take them out, except for the group that fled into the mountains. That's the group that you most likely encountered," Caleb said. Tony nodded his head. "Good thing the windows are both bullet and laser proof. That saved our lives more than once during the fight. We managed to kill all of the intruders," Caleb said. "We called the local ME to come and take the bodies and cleaned up the mess. Paul's body is being held until Marco can claim it since Paul doesn't have any blood family."

"Judas Priest, what a nightmare," Tony rubbed his eyes. "Keith and Lance don't know about Paul. Maria thought it was best that you or Aunt Charli be the ones to tell them."

"We'll tell them when they wake up," Caleb said. "What's in the bag Lance was carrying?"

"Buffy's ashes," Tony said. "The boys wouldn't leave her behind."

"We'll get an urn for her ashes," Caleb sighed. "Unless the boys want to scatter her ashes in the mountains."

"They hadn't discussed it, either way," Maria said, drinking her hot chocolate. "Things went to hell pretty quickly at the cabin. Lance pulled Keith off the chair and into the next room on his own."

"That boy's getting stronger. Or Keith's a lot lighter than we thought he was," Caleb rubbed his eyes.

Maria nodded her head. "I can weigh Keith when he wakes up and see if he's lost any weight."

"You better, if he's loosing weight instead of gaining, he'll have to be readmitted to the hospital and put on a feeding tube," Caleb shook his head.

"I can maintain a feeding tube at the house, Caleb," Maria said. "So he wouldn't have to be readmitted. I bet Keith's sick and tired of hospitals."

"He is," Caleb admitted. "I don't blame him. He spent eight months in the hospital after the crash."

Maria nodded. "Well I can handle most anything medically that comes up with young Keith," She said.

"Thank you, Maria," Caleb smiled at the young nurse.

A few hours later, Keith and Lance woke up. Lance looked sadly at the bag of ashes that rested in between their beds. "I thought it was a dream. A bad dream," He admitted to Keith.

Keith sighed. "Yeah, Buffy's really gone," He sniffled.

"Do you think we should get an urn for her ashes?" Lance asked his best friend. "Would Buffy even be happy in a little jar forever?"

"I don't know," Keith frowned. "Maybe if it was a pretty one. But, I don't know. Maybe she'd be happy if we scattered her ashes around the cabin. That was her home after all."

"Yeah," Lance paused. "Do you think Buffy was happy with us? Or do you think she missed Mr. Hawkes?"

"I think she was happy with us," Keith answered. "I'm sure she missed Mr. Hawkes, but we became her new family."

Maria knocked on the door. "Boys, it's dinner time. Keith, I need to weigh you before you eat," She said.

"Weigh me? Why?" Keith shook his head.

"Because your Uncle is afraid that you might be loosing weight," Maria helped Keith into his wheel chair. She pushed him into the bathroom. First she weighed herself then she picked up Keith and weighed herself again. She quickly calculated the difference. "Well, you've lost a few pounds, but nothing to serious. I'll tell your Aunt and Uncle."

"I don't wanna go back to the hospital," Keith whined.

"I don't think you'll have to, Keith."

"Good."

Dinner was a subdued affair. Lance looked around at the people sitting at the table and noticed that some one was missing. "Mommy, where's Mr. Paul?" He asked innocently.

Charli and Caleb looked at each other. Charli nodded towards her husband. Caleb sighed and put his fork down. "Lance, Keith, I'm sorry, but Paul was killed by the bad guys."

"What?" Lance exclaimed. "That's not fair! Mr. Paul was nice!" Keith just looked down at his plate and picked at his food.

"I know he was, but nice people die too, Lance," Charli stroked Lance's blonde hair.

"Like my parents," Keith said suddenly. "They were nice and they died."

"Yes, Keith, like your parents," Charli said.

"It's not right!" Lance objected.

"No, it's not. But, it happens," Caleb said.

"Then why be good if you're gonna die anyways?" Lance demanded.

"Do you feel good? How do you feel when you help some one?" Charli asked her son.

"I feel good."

"Then that's why," Charli smiled and ruffled Lance's short hair. She looked over at Keith. The boy's black hair was almost touching his collar. "Oh dear, Keith, it's time to get you a hair cut. My goodness, you look like you're growing a mullet!"

Keith looked at his Aunt, confused. "What's a mullet?"

"It's a hairstyle from the late 20th Century and your hair seems to want to grow into it," Charli explained. "It was very popular with certain type of men," She laughed a bit.

"Then why can't I have one?" Keith asked.

"You can when you're older, Keith."

"Okay, Aunt Charli."

Late that night, Keith and Lance tossed and turned in their beds. Neither boy could sleep. "I feel scared," Lance whispered. "With out Buffy here."

"Yeah, me too," Keith agreed quietly.

"Let's go and sleep with Mommy and Daddy," Lance suggested. "I'll get your wheelchair."

"Okay," Keith nodded his head in agreement. Lance pulled Keith's wheelchair to Keith's bedside, but forgot to put the lock on it. Keith levered himself out of bed and tried to settle into the chair. The chair shot backwards and Keith fell to the ground. "Ow!" He sobbed. "My back…!"

"Oh nuts!" Lance yelped and ran for Charli and Caleb. "Mommy, Daddy, Keith fell out of bed!"

Caleb shot out of bed. "Keith fell? What happened, Lance?" He started towards the room the boys shared.

"He was tryin' to get into his wheelchair so we could come to your room and sleep here," Lance admitted. He trotted after his father, his head down. "So, I pushed his wheelchair to his bed and he fell getting in."

"Lance, there's a reason Keith's not allowed to get into the wheelchair on his own," Caleb scolded his son.

"Yes, Daddy," Lance looked glum.

In the boys' room, Maria and Tony had moved Keith back to his bed. Maria was checking Keith over for any new injuries. "Maria, how is Keith?"

"He just stoved himself up some, but I don't feel any new injuries. I'm about to give him something for the pain so he'll probably sleep through the night."

"No!" Keith exclaimed. "I don't want drugs! My Mommy and Daddy never would have given me drugs!" He said.

"Keith, you need these drugs to help you get better," Caleb said.

"No I don't," Keith crossed his arms over his chest.

"Little Brother, accept your medication," Tony ordered, cutting short another protest from Keith. Keith lowered his head and nodded. Maria injected him with the medication. "See, it wasn't that bad." Keith scowled but did not object.

"Keith, do you want to sleep with Charli and myself, tonight only?" Caleb asked.

"Yes, Uncle Caleb," Keith nodded his head.

Caleb picked up Keith and carried him back to the master bedroom. Lance followed his father and brother. Lance crawled into the large bed next to Charli while Caleb laid Keith down next to Lance. Then, he got into bed next to Keith. "Did you boys say your prayers?"

"Yes, Daddy," Lance yawned.

"Yes, Uncle Caleb," Keith concurred with his brother.

"Okay, good night."

The next morning, Caleb woke up with a plush bat's butt in his face. He sighed and pushed it aside. He found Keith sleeping with Fu-Fu-San over his face and sucking his thumb. Lance curled up around Mr. Hoppy. Keith's legs had been kicking through out the night and Caleb now had bruises on his knees. Caleb sat up, his movement waking up Charli, but not Lance or Keith.

"Morning," Charli yawned. "Did you sleep well?"

"Not really," Caleb admitted. "But it looks like the boys slept well. Does Keith always sleep with his plushie over his face?"

"I think so," Charli nodded her head. "We'd better get them up. Keith has PT in an hour."

"Right. I take Keith you take Lance," Caleb said. He gently shook Keith. "Keith, Keithie, time to wake up," Caleb called out softly. Keith murmured around his thumb but did not open his eyes. "Keith Akira, time to wake up!" Keith opened one eye, looked at his Uncle then fell back asleep.

Meanwhile, Charli picked up Lance. His head flopped forward. "Lance, sweetie, time to wake up." Lance grumbled. "Come on, that's it. Open those big brown eyes for Mommy."

Keith finally opened his eyes. He rubbed them and yawned. Then he poked Lance in the back. Lance snorted awake. "What?" Lance mumbled.

"Time to wake up," Caleb said, rubbing his knees.

"Oh," Lance yawned. "C'n we sleep in here tonight, Daddy?"

"No, I don't think so, son."

"But, Daddy, Keith an' I don't feel safe with out Buffy sleeping with us," Lance protested.

"We'll discuss this after breakfast and PT, boys," Charli said, before Keith or Lance could dig their heels in on the topic.

After breakfast and PT, the McCastlin family sat down to talk about Lance and Keith's sleeping arrangement. "Keith, Lance, you can't sleep with us. You're both big boys now and I know you're scared about what happened yesterday, but you can't sleep with us," Caleb said, laying out his case.

Lance turned to his mother. "Mommy?"

"I agree with your father, Lance," Charli said firmly.

Lance's shoulders drooped. Keith sighed. "But we are scared in our room here, Uncle Caleb," Keith said. "We can't sleep with out Buffy in our room."

"Keith, you boys slept with out Buffy for six years. You can do it again," Charli said. "You're just upset right now. And I don't blame you. Yesterday was horrible."

"Aunt Charli," Tony spoke up. He had been listening in on the conversation, but not taking part until now. "I could pitch my sleeping bag in between Keith and Lance's beds and stay there for the rest of our stay here."

"That's a great idea, Tony," Charli said. "Is that okay with you boys?"

"It is," Keith and Lance said together.

"Mommy, how long will we be staying here?" Lance asked suddenly.

"A few more days probably," Charli hesitated. She picked up her cross stitch. "Boys, do you want to go out and play while it's still nice out. Just stay with in eye shot of an adult at all times."

Keith and Lance looked at each other. "We'd rather stay in here, Aunt Charli," Keith said quietly.

"Okay, Sweetie. Maria would you like to join me working on crafts?"

"Sure, Charli, I have that afghan I'm making for Bill's wife," Maria said. She went into her room and got her crochet bag and took out the afghan. Keith and Lance got their Leapsters and their favorite games to play. From time to time, Keith and Lance would look up to check if Charli and Maria were still on the couch.

As Maria and Charli worked on their crafts, Caleb called Marco Colonna. "*What's the status in the City, Marco?*" Caleb asked.

"*Going good. It's almost sanitized. You should be able to return by the end of the week,*" Marco said. "*How did the boys weather the attack yesterday?*"

"*They're scared, do you blame them? They got into bed with us last night,*" Caleb answered.

"*Poor kids. Did they have a lot of questions about what happened?*"

"*Some. But we were able to deflect them. I hate lying to the boys, but it's for the best," Caleb said.

"*Yes, it will be hard when they are older, but for now, it is best if they don't know about the future. Let things take their natural course,*" Marco said sagely.

"*You're right, Marco,*" Caleb agreed. "*Well, COM me when it's safe to return to San Francisco.*"

"*I will,*" Marco promised.

Caleb signed off his COM and leaned back in the chair and sighed.

For the rest of the day, Lance and Keith followed Charli around like ducklings followed the mother duck. At dinner time, they sat on each side of her. Bedtime came quickly for the boys and Tony, keeping his word, set up his sleeping bag in between the boys' beds. Using a small book lamp, Tony quietly read the collected poems of Robert Frost while Keith and Lance slept. The book was the last gift Akira and Meyong Kogane gave Tony before their deaths.

Three days passed quietly with Lance and Keith still constantly following Charli, staying close as they could to her. Tony also maintained a close presence with the boys. On the third day, Marco Colonna came to the château.

"Marco, it's good to see you," Caleb shook hands with Colonna. He lowered his voice. "How are things in the City?"

"Good, good," Colonna said quietly. "In fact, it's safe to go home. The Storm Riders neutralized the threat. I just got the word right before the limo pulled into the drive way."

Caleb relaxed. "It's good to hear that. The boys have been scared to be here since the attack. They'll sleep better in their own room."

"Yes, they will. Your van is fueled up and it should be here shortly."

"That's good. Would you like some coffee? Frank just made some banana bread, too. The boys love it."

"Frank's one of the best chefs I've ever employed," Colonna said proudly. "And he's a master with the knife if the need arises to fight."

"I saw the way he handled that Drul during the attack," Caleb said.

Colonna and Caleb walked into the large living room where Keith and Lance were playing Go Fish with Tony. Charli and Maria sat near by, working on their crafts. "Hello, Maria, Charli," Colonna greeted his daughter and Charli first. He looked over at Keith and Lance. He lowered his voice. "How are the boys really doing? Caleb said they've been scared."

"It's bad enough that Tony is sleeping in their room in between their beds. It's the only thing stopping them from getting into bed with Caleb and me," Charli answered.

"Poor things," Colonna sighed. "At least before the attack, did they enjoy themselves?"

"Yes they did. They love the Leapsters you got them. You didn't have to do that, Marco," Charli said with a smile.

"I wanted to. It gets me in practice for the grandchildren I'll hopefully have someday," Colonna said. "And, the games I bought are theirs' too."

"Marco, you're too generous," Charli smiled at him.

Marco sat down on the couch. Caleb came in with a tray of coffee and hot chocolate. Frank followed with a fresh loaf of his banana bread and some whipped cream cheese. Frank bowed to Marco and Caleb, then left to clean up his kitchen.

"So, Marco, what brings you to the mountains?" Charli asked.

"I'm here to claim Paul's body. The funeral will be next Saturday."

"Okay, we'll be there," Charli said. "We owe it to Paul."

"Thank you, Charli."

Caleb came into the living room. "Keith, Lance, we can go home as soon as you are ready to leave," He said.

"Really, Uncle Caleb?" Keith asked hopefully.

"Yes, really. Be sure to thank Mr. Colonna for letting us stay here," Caleb reminded his nephew and son.

"Thank you, Mr. Colonna," Keith and Lance said together.

"Daddy, we have to scatter Buffy's ashes before we leave," Lance pointed out.

"So where do you boys want to scatter them?" Charli asked.

"By Mr. Hawkes' grave, at the cabin," Keith said. "Buffy wouldn't be happy in a jar forever."

"That is very kind of you boys. We'll scatter her ashes before we leave. Let's get packed up."

"I'll help you boys pack," Charli said, putting her cross stitch away.

"May I come with you when you scatter Buffy's ashes?" Colonna asked.

"Sure, Mr. Colonna," Keith smiled at the old crime boss.

The McCastlin family quickly packed up their belongings and loaded up the newly arrived blue van. The van, with Colonna's hover limo and a few other cars, behind them, drove on the bumpy dirt road until they reached the old cabin formerly owned by Mr. Hawkes. Just a few feet from the porch, under a large oak tree rested a simple wooden cross. Everyone got out of their vehicles and surrounded the tree.

"Boys, this is your show," Caleb said.

Keith and Lance held the bag between them. "Buffy, thank you for being our friend," Keith said, tears falling down his face.

"Thank you, Buffy, for being so much fun to play with," Lance's face was also streaked with tears.

"We'll miss you but you're with Mr. Hawkes and my parents now." Keith nodded and he and Lance up ended the bag over the grave.

The wind swirled the ashes around the grave then a gust came in from the other direction and blew ash into Keith and Lance's faces. Both boys sneezed repeatedly. Tony bit his lip so he would not laugh at his Little Brothers, whom were still crying and sneezing.

"Well boys, let's go home. How about we stop at the McDonald's in Sutter and you boys can get Happy Meals."

"Alright!" Keith smiled at his uncle.

"Yay!" Lance jumped up and down.

THE END.


End file.
